Oceanside Books
by agentpaper3
Summary: AU. All Human. Bella works in a bookstore in Maine. Edward sees her there. Mutual interest, although they don't know that... yet. What obstacles will they find for their possible romance?
1. Boy Does Not Meet Girl

EPOV

Her brown hair was up in a messy bun and a strand kept falling in front of her eyes. She adjusted the glasses on her nose. And her eyes did not leave the page in front of her. Her pen scribbled across the page at a rapid speed. How could anyone think that fast? Needless to say that she did not notice me watching her from behind the overly stocked bookshelf that ran parallel to the cash register.

I felt like a little kid hiding under the bed, watching something that I should not be watching. But I could not look away from her intensity and obvious obliviousness about how beautiful she looked to me. Or to any of the other people who wended their way through the serpentine stacks.

Just then a bell rang, probably from the door, and a tall, blond man snuck up to her like he knew her. Of course she would not be unattached. I watched as he crept to her unsuspecting form, and my heart fell when instead of scared or annoyed her reaction was joyful. She squealed with delight and leapt at him. He spun her around. He began talking animatedly while she covered the notebook she had been writing in only moments before.

I turned back to the shelves and half-heartedly continued looking through the disorganized collection of literary classics, although I left with nothing. A rare occurrence. I could not even bring myself to look at the desk as I walked out of the store. But I did wonder if she even noticed my exit.

BPOV

The best part about my job at Oceanside Books was the fact that it was only trafficked by people with a genuine love of books, meaning that they did not need much assistance from me. I was more than happy to help when asked, but I was definitely excited to have time to actually work on some writing of my own. It had always been my dream to write something that mattered, whether it would be poetry or prose. Today I was unusually inspired, and I wrote until I was interrupted by the best friend a girl could have. Jasper Whitlock.

Despite my attention to my work, I felt him coming as soon as he opened the door. We have always had this almost psychic connection, from infancy to adulthood. His mother and my father had been best friends throughout high school, even getting married, having children, and divorced all around the same time, and so we were always together. In grade school, they had the brilliant idea to move us across the country to Maine. His father was an abusive bastard, and my father had helped his best friend get out of a nasty situation.

Back to the present, where Jasper is telling me about this new CD that he had bought, something about the greatest rock band ever. While he continued on his spiel, I slid my notebook closed. Did I mention that he was not allowed to read my work?

"Can you pay attention here, Bella? I am talking about the most important band to come into existence since the Beatles. You've got to hear this."

I laughed. He was always so serious about some things, but his excitement was infectious, like I did not even have a choice. I became so caught up in the conversation that I almost did not notice him leave. Messy bronze hair and sad eyes. I had noticed him enter the store earlier, but had lost track of him once the muse struck. It seemed strange that he had come in and had left empty-handed.

"Earth to Bella." Jasper stood, waving his hands in front of my face. Looks like I was having another one of my internal monologue moments.

"Sorry, Jazz. That Incubus reference has got to be getting old. Seriously."

"Maybe, friend, but it always gets your attention when you're in Bella-land. I was just asking if you wanted me to grab you a sandwich before I headed to work."

"Yeah. The usual, if you please. And tell them definitely no mayo this time. Last time there was a dab of it on my bread, and I almost hurled."

"Hello classy, intelligent girl." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I know. That's what my college education got me. A way with overly informative phrases. Hurry up with the sandwich, dear." I patted his head just like his grandmother did every holiday. And that was how we were. Nothing had ever cropped up between us in the way of romance. I think we were the only ones who thought that was entirely normal (except our parents), especially considering the vast amount of time we spent together over the years.

Chuckling, I sat back down behind the cash register, letting my thoughts wander to the man with the bronze hair and what could possibly have changed his demeanor between walking into the store and leaving so abruptly. 


	2. Bella's Fellas

JPOV

Even in the midst of my excitement about a new band, I see Bella close her super secret novel notebook, as if I did not see that shit. She thinks that I have no idea that she has been working on the great American novel. I may be a guy, but she has been my best friend since birth. And we have always had the relationship between her father and my mother to rely on for our own interactions, especially after they moved us to Maine and away from their former spouses (otherwise known as our absentparents). Which means that I am aware of her writing. I have probably read more of it than she realizes.

I know that she is tuning me out as I go on and on about my new find, although I am not quite sure why. Maybe it had something to do with Edward, who just left. I did not even realize that they knew each other... So I pulled my classic "get Bella's attention" move.

"Earth to Bella." I think she found it funny the first couple times that I did it, but it got old very quickly, for her. I thought it was the perfect reference. I always felt like I was one of the few things that could get through to her while she was in Bella-land, my name for her constant zoning out. It was fine when we were just hanging out, but it got to be a problem during school hours.

After a little more bantering, I was off to buy us some lunch at the sandwich shop around the corner. Forks', thus named because the sandwiches were so packed with deliciousness that you needed a fork to eat one.

Edward sat at one of the back tables, distractedly picking at what I assume started as a steak and cheese; so, I placed my order with the cashier and walked over to join him. He had a book in one hand and a fork in the other. He seemed startled when I sat down, and it took a few seconds for his eyes to focus and for him to recognize me.

"Hey, Jazz. What are you doing here, man? I thought you had to work."

"Yeah, I just dropped by Oceanside, and you totally ignored me. What the hell?"

"Sorry, I guess that I must have missed you. You know how I can get sometimes. There have been a few times that I walked by Em, and he just might be the size of a building."

"You are just like my best friend. I have no clue how you two can keep a steady job when you guys have no ties to reality. You think I am not tempted to zone out at the PO?"

"Yeah. I see your point, but it does not do my brain any good."

"ORDER FOR WHITLOCK!"

"Listen, I got to get going with these sandwiches. Catch you later."

"Yeah, later, Jazz."

EPOV

Since when was Jazz at Oceanside? Wait a minute... Was he the guy talking to the girl? I know that I am a space cadet on my best days, but how did I miss that?

BPOV

Got a text from Jazz a few minutes before I got out of work. GONE TO BLACK'S TO CHILL. YOU DOWN?

I could see the lights through the grease on the garage door. Black's is the town's only garage, owned by Billy Black, who just so happened to know my dad from Washington. Jake, his son, was one of the few outsiders we let into our weird world. Maybe let is a strong word. More like he weaseled his way in when we were not looking. All of a sudden, he was there and we were friends.

I knew that Hale would be there, too. I always thought her and Jake were perfect for each other, but they said they were just friends. I just do not understand how you can get that dirty with someone on a daily basis and not want to get dirty with them (if you know what I mean). And Jake was hot. Muscles. Killer smile. Hell, if I was more of a girl, I would probably be swooning at the very thought of him.

Before I even opened the office door, I could hear them bullshitting and laughing. I walked in during one of Hale's stories about a man walking in on her fixing his car.

"Of course the bastard was an out-of-stater. Didn't know his asshole from his elbow. So when I popped out from under the hood, he was shitting bricks. Apparently, he's traveling with a friend, and he thought his friend fucked with the car to get him to the garage and hired a stripper to pretend to fix it. He laid one hand on me, not getting the drift that I was the fucking mechanic, and I belted him. He was out flat for a good fifteen. He was so embarassed that he didn't even flinch when I double charged him."

Even with an too large jumpsuit, covered in grease, her hair in a messy ponytail and a backwards hat, Hale was a goddess. Most of the guys around town drooled when they crossed paths. Too bad for them that she could care less about their desires. She had her own dreams, and working in a small town garage her whole life was not one of them. NOr was being someone's little housewife.

"Hey fellas. What's going on?" I said from my usual perch, the office chair.

"Shit, Bells. I didn't even hear you come in. Must be all that ninja training you took as a child." Hale laughed. My clumsiness was no secret. Even I was surprised that I had made it in unnoticed. But I guess he even men not totally smitten by her would not look away in the middle of one of her stories.

"Damn right, if by ninja training you mean I watched Buffy on a weekly basis." That's right. Buffy.

I got up from the chair and walked over to the couch, dropping down in between Jazz and Jake.

"What's a lady got to do to get some supper around here?"

After some more bullshitting, we all ended up at the Swan/Whitlock family home for some pizza. Dad and Maria headed to bed after a couple hours of our company. And we settled down to watch Dirty Harry. I woke up a few hours later, being carried to my room by Jasper. It never failed to amaze him how I could fall asleep while watching the most violent scenes in movies. Like I always said, violence was not interesting. (At least not most of the time.) Romance was the interesting part. 


End file.
